SUGGESTIONS North Melbourne has entered a rebuilding phase are "slightly disrespectful" to the club's core of experienced players, deputy vice-captain Shaun Higgins says.
North took the AFL's second oldest list into the 2016 season. But when the Roos failed to capitalise on a club-record 9-0 start to the year, winning just three more games for the season and copping a 62-point elimination final flogging from Adelaide, they set about rejigging their list.
First, they told League games record holder Brent Harvey and fellow veterans Drew Petrie, Michael Firrito and Nick Dal Santo they would not be recontracted for 2017, while Daniel Wells subsequently moved to Collingwood as a free agent.
They then acquired 23-year-old Marley Williams, Nathan Hrovat (22) and Paul Ahern (20) in the NAB AFL Trade Period, and again invested exclusively in youth at the national and rookie drafts.
At the conclusion of the rookie draft, North suddenly boasted the AFL's second youngest list, having decreased its average player age from 25 years and 45 days in 2016 (as of round one) to 23 years and 218 days.
This dramatic shift has been widely seen as irrefutable proof the Kangaroos have embarked on a rebuild.
But Higgins told AFL.com.au North remained well placed to be extremely competitive in 2017.
"There is a slightly new feel around the club. The 11 new guys have brought a sense of new energy and excitement, but the core of our list is still there. We've lost five veterans, which is probably one or two more than average, but nothing's really changed," Higgins said.
"(A rebuild) hasn't been discussed at all internally. Where we think the list is at and what's been the core of our side for the last couple of years, and even before I got here, all those guys are still here and in the prime of their footy careers.
"It's slightly disrespectful to the guys who are on the list and the boys who have been here for six to 10 years to talk about a rebuild, so we're definitely not doing that at all."
Asked whether North's greatest challenge in 2017 would be replacing the outside class of Harvey, Wells and Dal Santo, Higgins said only a collective team effort could begin to cover those losses.
"I don't think you'll ever replace someone like 'Boomer', 'Wellsy' or 'Dal', so it's a matter of guys stepping up and filling those roles," Higgins said.
"I feel like there's a really good spread of guys to step up in that mid-forward role that don't necessarily need to replace Boomer. They just need to step up and play that role for the team.
"So going into this pre-season there's a sense of excitement for those guys who have been around two, three or four years, and also for the guys who have just been drafted and those who have come in from other clubs. There's real opportunity there for them."
Higgins has had a positive start to the 2017 pre-season on two fronts.
Most importantly, he is back in full training after recovering from a minor off-season operation on the right knee that sidelined him for 14 games in 2016.
He was also appointed deputy vice-captain alongside Jamie Macmillan when North revamped its leadership group in December, with Jack Ziebell replacing Andrew Swallow as captain and Robbie Tarrant assuming the vice-captaincy vacated by Ziebell.
Higgins is embracing the added responsibility of his new role.
"It's a privilege to lead these guys and hopefully we can do the right thing by them and take the club and the playing group in the right direction and get us back as quickly as possible into playing finals footy," he said.
